Discursive reality construction in German feature film

• Applicant: Dr. Thomas Wiedemann
• Subject Area: Communication Sciences
• Term: from 2015 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 281094375

"Suck me Shakespeer", "Toni Erdmann", "Never Look Away". The project “Making of … The interplay of actions in the production process of feature films in Germany” concludes that in light of the film funding system, German feature films' formation of meaning reflects a political dimension and expresses power relations, which limit autonomous practice. Against this background, it seems imperative to examine which knowledge and explanations German feature film consequently offers. This follow-up research project is based on the assumption that the film medium can influence our worldviews and that actor structure dynamics cause a struggle for legitimate meaning, which, as a result of specific power-knowledge constellations, are likely to foster society’s regime of understanding the world. Therefore, it draws on the discourse theory and asks which discursive rules shape the reality construction in German feature film. By interpreting films as discursive practice, the project suggests a theoretically and methodically innovative, power-oriented examination of fictional entertainment, which contributes to media content analysis and refers to the areas of communicator research and media policy. Moreover, considering films as an essential part of today’s knowledge structures, it addresses the visualization of society and undertakes a further step to analyze the (production) culture of audiovisual media in Germany, which enlarges German communication study’s connectivity to international research areas and neighboring disciplines. This qualitative research project carries on discourse analyses of 40 contemporary German feature films and additional document analyses. Research process and the selection of material are structured by a category system.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants